Coixol ameliorates Toxoplasma gondii infection-induced lung injury by interfering with T. gondii HSP70/TLR4/NF-κB signaling pathway.

Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) is an obligate intracellular protozoan parasite that causes pulmonary toxoplasmosis, although its pathogenesis is incompletely understood. There is no cure for toxoplasmosis. Coixol, a plant polyphenol extracted from coix seeds, has a variety of biological activities. However, the effects of coixol on T. gondii infection have not been clarified. In this study, we infected a mouse macrophage cell line (RAW 264.7) and BALB/c mice with the T. gondii RH strain to establish infection models in vitro and in vivo, respectively, to explore protective effects and potential mechanisms of coixol on lung injury caused by T. gondii infection. Anti-T. gondii effects and underlying anti-inflammatory mechanisms of coixol were investigated by real-time quantitative PCR, molecular docking, localized surface plasmon resonance, co-immunoprecipitation, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, western blotting, and immunofluorescence microscopy. The results show that coixol inhibits T. gondii loads and T. gondii-derived heat shock protein 70 (T.g.HSP70) expression. Moreover, coixol reduced inflammatory cell recruitment and infiltration, and ameliorated pathological lung injury induced by T. gondii infection. Coixol can directly bind T.g.HSP70 or Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) to disrupt their interaction. Coixol prevented overexpression of inducible nitric oxide synthase, tumor necrosis factor-α, and high mobility group box 1 by inhibiting activation of the TLR4/nuclear factor (NF)-κB signaling pathway, consistent with effects of the TLR4 inhibitor CLI-095. These results indicate that coixol improves T. gondii infection-induced lung injury by interfering with T.g.HSP70-mediated TLR4/NF-κB signaling. Altogether, these findings suggest that coixol is a promising effective lead compound for the treatment of toxoplasmosis.